Putrajaya Interpark Ride Series 7

At the starting line this morning

A folding bike rider and his Dahon Eco 3

Inspiring moment: a really large dude making his way up the PICC hill

I have always looked forward to the Putrajaya Interpark Ride Series. 

This is my first outing for the year and I had a swell time cycling some 30km in the administrative city. 

As usual, I packed my stuff and head off to the venue early. This time advantage helps a lot in setting up the bike and answering nature calls especially early in the morning.

While waiting at the starting line, an elderly man came up to me and said: "Ah, you are Samo! I follow your blog!"

We had a conversation and I was told that he was from the Putrajaya Easy Riders group.

He said folding bikes - especially Dahons are getting popular.

Later on the route, I saw one of his buddies riding a black Dahon Eco 3.

In the series-7 ride, there were two climbs - one at the PICC and the other was directly behind the Ministry of Finance.

For me, the PICC ride was a piece of cake after the weekly training stint at Hulu Langat. I tackled the gradient with ease on my low gear.

Now, the toughest of the lot, was a hill behind the MOF.

I was riding on the left-hand side of the road, changed to low gear and started climbing when a guy had suddenly stopped in front of me.

My immediate reaction was swerving away from him to avoid a collision and as a result, I lost my balance and fell on my side.

My left knee was pretty banged up and when I broke my fall, I also banged up my right elbow.

I picked up the Dahon Speed P8 which was not damaged and pushed it to the top of the slope and took a brief time to recover.

Although still hurting, I cycled to the checkpoint where the cyclists were given a bottle of water and some food.

Some bananas helped in diverting the pain.

By 11:00am, the ride was over.

At the main event area, I spoke to a man who had road rashes on both his knees. The cyclist said he had a close-call and also made mention of a rider who collided with a lamp post.

Series 7 as it seems, had claimed a number of casualties. 

I guess its mainly because there are more cyclists than the usual.

The minor accident I was involved it could have been avoided if the cyclist in front of me was fit enough to climb.

As for the busted knee and elbow, I guess this one won't hamper me from the weekly training rides on Sundays..